Building foundation



April 2, 1935. o. WERNER BUILDING FOUNDATION Filed Feb. 6, 1951 ATTO R N EYS Patented Apr. 2, 179,35`

www f UNITED, srATEs PATENT-;OFF1CE.

Y y '11,996,358c" Y 'BUILDING FoiiNl) A'rIoNV` j n lrottoWerner, Corona, N. Y.V 'v v Amili'caaonrebruapy 6, 1931,A serial', Nalsiisssi, '1 l e e1a'ln is`.f V` rc1.' wfg-47) f 'I'his invention pertains ,Y to improvements in building foundations, particularlytov tl'iexfounda-V tions of largebuildings having a steel superstructure or frame. More especially the invention re'- 5 lates to improved means for setting in position on a footing or stone, concrete, masonry?, etc, the metal bases or grillageswhichserve to transferrthe.

load of the building superstructure uniformi-yl `onto the footing. Y

A primary object of the invention is tomount' theV metal base or grillage uponfeet.adaptedl temporarily to supportthe same in spaced re'- lation upon the footing, the feet being ,individf ually and continuously adjustable 'inr height in order to provide a means-forv quickly and'y accu. rately levelling'thebaseor grillage priort'o grouting at a preselected elevationcorresponding to` grade ror level lines. Y f.

In large buildings employing a steel* framef'or superstructure the load of the steel supporting columns is transferred to a footing' of masonry, stone, concrete or the like, through the medium of metal bases or grillages which translate the rather concentrated loadof the column 'into one of lesser proportions per unitarea uniformly distributed over a correspondinglyflarger surface. In this way' the danger is lessened of exceeding the maximum crushing strength of the footing.

After having been properly set upon'the footing, the base or grillage is'grouted in position,

and thereafter butprior to erectionk of the steelV superstructure, Athebase or grillage is made an integralvpart of the'footing by means Aof a.. concrete shoulder encasing the same which is built.

Y certain portions of the footing.

Heretofore the accepted'practice in setting to grade or line levels, all grillages,.metal slabs or bases, or steel columns with bases fabricated as anintegral part of the column, has been through v'the medium of metal or wooden wedges or shims` interposed in proper proportion atrseveral points of support between the grillage or other base and the footing.r Such is the method outlinedin the troduce an elementof uncertainty as regards they standard handbook of the American Institute of Steel Construction. The wedges or shims Vare piled A:one upon another tothe extent required notonly fora'djustingv the base to the required elevationY but also Afor accurately levelling the base v 5 at-such elevation.v f

,f- 'I'hisprocedure istedious, slow and'correspondv vvingly eiipensive.Y .It becomes yparticularly. cumb ersome and laborious when, as is the usual case,Y the grillage or otherlbasemustnot only be adjust- 'ed to vgrade level but must also be set accuratelyk in accordance withv the building line or :column centers. y Thus, if after havingcarefully wedged.V or-shimined ther grillage or base'to grade. level. itisfound to beslightly out ofv alignment with respect .to the buildingline or column centers, it cannot Vin general Vbe merely shifted laterally Vby the requisiteamount owing to slippage of the shims or wedges which destroys the levelling ad- V justment. `Consequently the whole tiresome process must be repeated. y Y vA further objection to the present practice is that the comparatively loose Vshims or wedges inload carrying capacity of the completed substructure., ,l Wherethe, shims or wedges employed are of ;wood the compressive strength of which is practically nil underA the enormous loads encountered,

this element ofuncertainty in design becomes greatly exaggerated.` Construction engineershave Y30v frequently pointed to this consideration assonstituting a'serious defect to the existingmethods of setting metal grillages and the like.' l AIn order`v to overcome the above noted objections,

it is' proposed by thepresent invention to provide-'35p'- the grillage. etc. witha plurality ofmetal feet for supporting the same temporarily in spaced relation upon the footing prior to grouting. The feet are individually and continuously adjustable in height throughout'a range in values, in order to provide means for quickly and accurately levelling the grillage at the desired elevation. Ifnow it is v 'i found that the grillage is slightly off the building line or column centers, it may be shifted laterally therequisite amount'without in'general destroy ing the levelling adjustment. In any event `the necessary corrections in this latter respectmay be easily accomplished by'a slight additional ad'- justment in elevation of one or more supporting feet?` One very simple and eflicientmeans of carrying the invention into effect is to employ three or four bolts screw-threadedthrough thelower por-v tion ofthe grillage etc. in such fashion that the 'bolts projecting belowthe grillage serve asfeetr55 sired elevation.r The bolts are then individually for supporting the same upon the footing. The bolts heads are formed to t a hand wrench whereby individual adjustment is effected. By this modification, the old and laborious method Vof levelling is replaced by onewhich combines the mentioned advantages of simplicity and expedition with reliability of adjustment.

The met-al bolts rmly screwed to the base eliminate the mentioned uncertainty heretofore introduced bythe relatively `loose metal or Wood shims and Wedges. .When the grillage etc. is set in accordancerwith the present invention and then` grouted and concreted in place preparatory to erection ofthe superstructure, there remains nothing under the grillage which is of -doubtful carrying capacity.

Referring now to the drawing Fig. 1 shows end elevation a grillage inV accordance with this invention positioned to transfer the load from a column onto a pier or footing;

Fig. 2 is'a plan viewof thef construction of Figi. Y y

The grillage I supports the column 2 and in turn rests upon the pier or `footing13 of masonry, concrete, stone,"etc. Thegrillage comprises a billet plate 4 having affixed to the underside thereof by means of bolts .and cooperating nuts 5, a

squarahcxagon'al onother-'suitably shaped headsV for adjustment by a hand wrench or the like, and normally project below thev grillage in order to support the same in spacedrelation upon the footing3.- l v' Y 'The levelling operation is effected by screwing up all Vthe bolts II untilthe upper surface of the billet plate 4 attains approximately the deadjusted to accurately'level -the grillage while bringing it to the exact elevation corresponding to the levelline. It will beapp'arent that should the grillage thus levelled be found slightly off the building line or columncenters, it may be shifted laterally therequisite extent without in general disturbing the levelling adjustment, and in no case will more than a-'minor degr'eerelevelli'ng Vbe rel quired. Bearing plates IZ'may, ifv desired, be interposed betweenv the After the grillage has thus been properly located on the pier or footing and set to grade level, it is grouted in position. Subsequently and prior to erection of the steel superstructure, concrete is employed to build up the pier on footing 3 flush with the upper surface of the billet plate 4 as is indicated by the dotted line I3. The supporting column 2 is shown dotted merely for the sake of completeness. It is to be understood that it is not in general aixed to the billet plate until after the grillage is set, grouted and made an integral part of the footing by addition of the concrete shoulder I3 encasing the same.

While the invention has been described as applied to a grillage consisting of parallel spaced I beams affixed to a billet plate, the same means may be employed without modification for levelling any sort of metal slab or base, steel column with base fabricated as an integral part thereof or other support which requires accurate levelling at a preselected elevation prior to being grouted and vsubsequently. concreted to a footing or pier.v i

Y What I claim is:

1. In a building foundation wherein a metal grillage functions to transfer, the load of a superstructure uniformly onto a footing, the combination with said grillage of metal bolts screwthreaded through the base thereof for adjustably supporting ther grillage temporarily on said footing, whereby said grillage may be accurately levelled at a preselected elevation prior toV grouting the same to said footing.

2. In a building foundation wherein a. metal grillage functions to transfer the load of a superstructure uniformly onto a footing, in combination a grillage comprising a billet plate, a series of parallel spaced I beams aflixed to vone side thereof, and adjusting bolts screw-threaded through the exposed flangeof certain of said I beams forsupporting said grillage temporarily in spaced relation upon said footing whereby said grillage may be accurately levelled at a preselected elevation prior to 'grouting the same to said footing.

3. In a building foundation, a stone or concrete footing, a metal grillage, and means adjustably supporting said grillage upon said footing in spaced relation thereto, said means comprising a plurality of metal bolts screvJ-threadedly aixed to said grillage and positioned to adjustably support the same on said footing, whereby said grillage may be accurately levelled at a preselected elevationV above said footing prior to grouting thereto.

` O'I'VIO WERNER. 

